According to German political analyst Alexander Rahr, Ukraine hopes in vain for beneficial changes on Donbass after the Russia-US summit in Geneva
The German expert commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with US leader Joe Biden on the air of the Ukrainian TV channel Nash, according to Economy Today. According to Rahr, such topics as relations with China and the crisis in Ukraine were discussed without any agreements. Kiev’s hopes that Biden would put pressure on Putin or include the US in the Normandy format did not materialise: the non-alternative nature of the Minsk agreements prevents this. Kiev’s failure to implement them is the main reason for the lack of progress in the settlement.
“The Americans see that the Normandy quartet has been inactive for months. Merkel is inactive, and it is unclear what will happen with Macron next year. To keep this process alive, the Americans are willing to get involved in negotiations somewhere. But which ones? The conflict has been at a standstill for seven years, it is frozen. And I think there will be no new techniques and approaches to remake and unfreeze it”, – Rahr said.
The political scientist admitted that the USA has ambitions to become a key participant in the new Ukrainian settlement format. However, Rahr doubted that Washington’s aspirations would yield results.
Ukrainians’ reaction to the meeting between Putin and Biden was disappointment. Network users from that country believe that the Russian president “screwed the American vis-a-vis,” and Kiev should seriously think about its own bet on the US and its leader.